Gytrash again upstages Waller’s Nature Strip
Sydney’s leading trainer still rises to the top, taking an interstate Group 2 double as he pays tribute to Rick Worthington
The spring’s sprint racing action began exactly as it did last autumn when South Australian star Gytrash (Lope De Vega) upstaged the world’s highest-rated sprinter Nature Strip (Nicconi) with a decisive victory in the Concorde Stakes (Gr 3, 1000m) at Randwick yesterday.
The Gordon Richards-trained Gytrash (5 g Lope De Vega – Miss Barley by Fastnet Rock) relegated Chris Waller’s Nature Strip to another first-up loss, his fourth straight defeat when resuming from a spell and one which mimicked the autumn’s Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) at Flemington when both horses returned with the former winning and the latter beaten at $1.45 – as he was yesterday.
The Lightning was a breakthrough Group 1 success for Gytrash and his 68 year-old trainer while the Concorde Stakes was his ninth win in a 20-start career which has seen him just once finish outside the first three.
The TAB, sponsors of yesterday’s race and the $15 million The Everest (1200m), cut Gytrash from $11 to $6 for the October 17 Everest while easing Nature Strip from $2.60 to $3. No other runner, including the only “locked-in” contenders Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) and Rothfire (Rothesay) bar yesterday’s protagonists, is at single-figure odds.
Gytrash stalked Nature Strip, who was unable to cross leader Ball Of Muscle (Dubawi), before drawing clear to win by a length and a half in a quick 55.81 seconds for the 1000 metres – just a blink slower than the track record time of 55.73 set by Redzel (Snizel), a two-time Everest conqueror and the Concorde Stakes winner of the three previous years.
While victory obviously augurs well for Gytrash’s later spring prospects, defeat has only limited significance in terms of the same for Nature Strip.
The Chris Waller-trained gelding, rated 124 on the world rankings and 121 domestically, was an emphatic winner of his second and third runs in the autumn and twice won Group 1 races after being beaten first-up in the 2019 spring.
Gytrash, who has no such glitches on his form card, will obviously remain in Sydney given Covid-19 travel restrictions and may proceed to The Everest without another run.
“I don’t know now whether I would give him another run or go straight to The Everest. He could do it. He was first-up today, with one easy trial when he first came over here. He’s good when fresh,” Richards said.
“I’m loving it now, not homesick anymore,” said Richards of the relocation with the gelding who was sold, as a weanling and a yearling, by Inglis and has secured the Inglis Everest slot.
“I thought he was in trouble turning for home when the other two kicked and they did kick but when he knuckles down, he’s a good horse and I think the 1200 metres (of The Everest) is better for him as he can balance up and he’ll learn from that today,” he said.
Nature Strip’s rider James McDonald was laconic but seemingly not unduly disappointed.
“Good. He felt terrific,” he said before adding he “executed well” – whatever that might mean!
Gytrash was purchased for $40,000 at the 2017 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale by Richards from the Maluka Thoroughbreds draft. He had been first offered at the 2016 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale where he made $70,000 to the bid of New Zealander John Corcoran.
Gytrash was bred by Packing Investments Australia and Haltrow and Glastonbury Farms, who consigned him as a weanling at Oaklands Junction.
Miss Barley was sold for just $4,000 to Perth trainer Justine Erkelens at the 2017 Magic Millions Perth Winter Mixed Sale. She had Gytrash’s unraced three-year-old half-sister Outlaw Miss (Rubick), who has been retired without racing, and has two-year-old filly Pouakai (Demerit), who has trialled three times in 2020.
Waller pays tribute to Worthington
Waller’s day, typically, was not fruitless despite the hiccough with Nature Strip.
He produced veteran gelding Humidor (8 g Teofilo – Zalika by Zabeel) to win the Feehan Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m) and a ticket to the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) at his first run for the stable. The horse, who ran Waller’s heroine Winx (Street Cry) to a long neck in the 2017 Cox Plate, had not won for two years but was able to defeat Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) favourite Surprise Baby (Shocking) by a long neck with a nose back to Harbour Views (Le Havre) in third.
“I’ve watched him at trackwork a lot over the past few weeks this horse since I’ve been back and he’s looked in great condition and he’s trialled up really well,” rider Damian Lane told Racing.com. “It was very unfortunate for Damien Thornton to get hurt on Monday and I was very fortunate to pick up the ride. I was happy to take it from what I had seen at work and he gave me a great ride here today. I loved being back on him.
“As I’ve probably always said with this horse, you’d never put anything past him. He’s a little superstar and on his day is as good as any horse.”
Waller also claimed the 1600-metre Group 2 weight-for-age feature in Sydney, the Chelmsford Stakes with another veteran in nine-year-old Mister Sea Wolf (9 g Amadeus Wolf – Rose de France by Diktat) and annexed the trifecta with Yulong Prince (Gimmethegreenlight) and Finche (Frankel) filling the placings.
Post Chelmsford, Waller was more focused on paying tribute to fellow trainer Rick Worthington who died, from cancer, yesterday.
“It was a pretty special race, wasn’t it? All the trainers learned about half an hour ago and there was an air of silence. To lose a man like Rick at such a young age – too young. He was the first person to help if someone was doing it tough. He has done it tougher than anybody in the last few years. He’d be the last one to show it. It is a sad day,” he said.
Valley treble for Maher, Eustace
At Moonee Valley, the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace training combination upstaged their rivals with a treble from the first four races.
How Womantic (The Wow Signal) resumed in the opening race at Moonee Valley and recorded her fifth win from as many starts on good-rated tracks.
“She was a short priced favourite,” said co-trainer Eustace, “so there was some expectation on her and young Lachie (Neindorf) and he gave her a great ride. We’ll see where we go from here as we sort out her ideal trip. Her pedigree says she could get further but the 1200 (metres) might be spot on for her.”
Flash Flood (Night Of Thunder) graduated from a Wangaratta maiden win to take the 1500-metre three-year-old event and was described by Eustace as “a nice, big scopey horse who should get 2000 metres.”
“He’s a nice horse,” Eustace added, “who’s still learning his craft but putting it together quite well now and I think the winkers really helped him today.”
Junipal (Reset) completed the stable treble – and is now Toorak Handicap (Group 1, 1600m) bound – with a comprehensive win second-up in the 1600-metre handicap which was marred by jockey Dwayne Dunn being injured when his mount Shot Of Irish (Canford Cliffs) reared in the starting gates. Dunn was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
“He’s gone to another level as a gelding,” Eustace said of Junipal, “and he’ll be targeted at the Toorak. He’d take some beating if he sneaks into the Toorak field with a light weight.”